Henrietta Shore

It was the first time I had seen my image completely surrounded by nature, and I suddenly had an overwhelming sense of belonging to it—of actually being part of every tree and flower.

After taking a domestic education class, Shore began studying painting with the Canadian Impressionist Laura Muntz Lyall at the age of fifteen.

[3] His impact can be seen in subject matter and in looser, more painterly works, such as Negro Women and Children (1910-1915), in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

[4] In 1913 Shore moved from Toronto to Southern California, settling in Los Angeles and becoming part of a small but influential group of early West Coast modernists.

This show also included works from prominent East Coast artists such as Robert Henri, George Bellows, Maurice Prendergast and William Glackens.

"[9] In 1919 Shore began showing with Caroline Bowles, Helena Dunlap, William Cahill, Edouard Vsykal and Luvena Buchanan under the name California Progressive Group.

[10] During this time her work changed radically, morphing from painterly scenes of everyday life to colorful, close-up abstractions.

It has been suggested that the change in style may have been a result of exposure to other modernists working in New York during the time, such as Arthur Dove, Charles Demuth, and Georgia O'Keeffe.

Critics reviewed both shows together, attributing the similarities in their works (both abstracted nature scenes) to a female sensibility.

"[11] The reduction of her work to her gender deeply bothered Shore who intended to express metaphysical themes through incorporating Eastern philosophy and Theosophy.

[19] During the summer of 1928 the Johan Hagemeyer Studio-Gallery in Carmel staged a solo exhibition of Shore's work, accompanied by a program of modern Norwegian music.

In February 1934 she joined fellow Carmelite artists Stanley Wood and John O’Shea and donated her paintings to a sale of original art in support of the controversial Scottsboro Defense Fund, which was intended to free nine black men falsely accused of rape.

[21] Despite these shows, Shore struggled financially during the Depression and slipped into relative obscurity, just as Weston began to achieve fame.

Her friend, Jehanne Bietry Salinger, said about the matter, "some so-called 'do-gooders' went to her studio, found it disorganized, and had Henrietta committed to an asylum.

[26] Unlike Edward Weston and Georgia O'Keeffe, Henrietta Shore and her work mostly fell into obscurity after her death.